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Reasons To Be Concerned About the Women’s Division In WWE After WrestleMania 35

April 7, 2019 | Posted by Justin Watry
Becky Lynch Ronda Rousey WWE RAW Image Credit: WWE

Hi, I’m Justin Watry. You may remember me from such columns as March 2012’s “WWE WrestleMania 28: Sheamus Should Defeat Daniel Bryan In Less Than A Minute” and October 2016’s “WWE NXT: Bobby Roode, You’re Next.” 

Backstory

It’s happening. No more speculation. No more red herrings. No more BS reports and updates. As expected since last spring, the women will be main eventing WrestleMania 35 this Sunday night. It was my story all along and has been WWE’s throughout 2018 and into 2019. It is absolutely the right decision, and I am ready. We have nearly arrived. Like all things though, life will move on. Thanks to a column request off Twitter, that brings us to today’s topic…

Life After WM35 For The Women’s Division

Daniel Bryan/WrestleMania XXX Effect – Let’s just be real for a quick second. Nothing is going to top being in the main event of WrestleMania. Nothing. We do this all the time, and it is unfair. Remember when Daniel Bryan won the WWE Title in 2014 on the grandest stage of them all? Yeah, no matter what he did afterwards it was going to be a step down. Whether he feuded with Kane, Triple H, Batista, Randy Orton, or the man on the moon – it was going to be a step down. No different than the big Stone Cold Steve Austin WrestleMania 14 moment. Remember his next feud? Yeah, exactly. You can pick any year, any feud, any match, etc. Nothing is bigger and better than Mania. Thus, get ready now folks. The women (and men) WILL take a step back. As did Barry Bonds during his record breaking home run season or the Warriors winning a record amount of games in the NBA or whatever example available. You reach the top, then you go down. Only natural.

Ronda Rousey – It is only fair to talk about the women’s division, beginning with Ronda Rousey. As noted before (on another website), she was my Superstar Of 2018. She had the biggest debut, biggest impact, best match and was consistently the center of attention. All the while, being amazing every step of the way. That being said, it is now 2019, and I believe her full-time run with the company is nearing an end. Whether permanent or just a nine month break, my bet is on her departing WWE the night after WM35. No big surprise; it has been long suspected, and I have no issues with it at all. Ronda Rousey more than earned her clout to take a break when she sees fit. Therefore, as my bold prediction stated for 2019, she is losing at WrestleMania. Losing as in taking the loss. Not Charlotte Flair as many think. Certainly not Becky Lynch. Ronda Rousey is losing, and it is for the best. After this, she can start a family or pop in every few months like Brock Lesnar. Her choice, not mine. Either way, she is the reason the women are in the main event of WM35. Don’t kid yourself. A standard Becky, Charlotte, Asuka, or whoever match isn’t closing out the evening. We all know that.

Charlotte Flair – Admittedly, Charlotte Flair feels like the third wheel in this all. However, do not forget that Becky Lynch is the original third wheel. Yes, you read that right. Becky is the original third wheel. WrestleMania 35 was planned to be Charlotte vs. Rousey for the RAW Womens Championship. Becky Lynch got extremely hot in late 2018 and was the one added to the mix. People may not want to admit that, but it is the truth. Still, in the present, Ms. Flair sticks out like a sore thumb, especially now holding the Smackdown Live Womens Title. I listed her as my Unsung MVP of 2018, so this is no knock on her at all. I am a huge fan…but the issue felt just right as Becky taking on Rousey. Adding Charlotte is fine due to history and adding match quality, so perhaps we will all appreciate this decision in hindsight? Perhaps not. As mentioned above, I have Becky defeating Ronda. Charlotte will not play into the finish. She can remain Smackdown Womens Live Champion after Mania and hold down the fort there. There appears to be more going on with the red brand in the future.

Becky Lynch – Your new Raw Womens Champion. I have written about this many times and spoken about it on the 411 Foresight Wrestling Podcast as well. Becky Lynch will end the show holding her newly won title. That is your ending right there. Superstar Shakeup or not, her character shifts over to Raw in the near future, and all is right with the world. Ronda Rousey or no Ronda Rousey, she can be THE MAN with a new fresh batch of challengers through 2019. Kinda writes itself. My biggest hope is she gets far away from Charlotte Flair for the remainder of the year. No more. It’s done. We can all move on. A one on one bout versus Rousey makes sense and is needed at some point. Charlotte? No, it’s over with.

Title Unification? – I am writing this before Raw on April 1st, 2019. Stephanie McMahon apparently has some kind of WM35 main event announcement. My assumption is that includes the stipulation where whatever champion is pinned, loses that title. Hence, if Charlotte is defeated, her Smackdown Live Womens Title is lost. If Rousey is defeated, her Raw Womena Title is lost. If Becky loses…well, she isn’t losing, so who cares about that part? I HOPE both titles are not on the line for a title unification bout. I know the Womens Tag Team Titles are cross branded, but is one Womens Title really such a good idea? Asuka, Charlotte, Lana, Naomi, Many Rose, Ember Moon, Alexa Bliss and the rest of the roster will NEVER get a fair shot in the division then. With just one belt amongst then thousand women on the roster, good luck! Becky Lynch will reign for a long time. Yeah, I would keep both titles. Charlotte on the blue brand, Becky on the red brand.

Upcoming Feuds – First off, no more Charlotte/Becky matches. That should take care of itself after the Superstar Shakeup. I’d like to see Bliss get back in the mix, but who knows her status? I know she is injured, but another person is Ember FREAKIN’ Moon. I have high hopes for her succeeding on the main roster. Nia Jax, Tamina Snuka, Lana, Naomi and a whole host of others can all take a backseat to the real stars of the division. They can hang out in the tag division for awhile. Cry and whine on Twitter for all I care. Asuka needs to win the WM Battle Royal and reclaim her spot back on top of the card. Same with Sasha Banks and Bayley as Womens Tag Team Champions. The Four Horsewomen of Wrestling are where it’s at going forward. The IIconics would be my choice to hold those belts next as a tandem, but it may be best to put that on hold. No Carmella and Lana BS or whoever else is thrown in there. Women are main eventing WrestleMania for crying out loud! The talent and interest is there.  Add in an NXT call up or two, and you are golden for another year with no problems. 

Cheap Plugs

411’s Justin Watry is joined by Holli to discuss WWE WrestleMania 35, EC3 doing nothing as of late, All Elite Wrestling and their role in the business. Plus, what hooked us as wrestling fans?

Introduction/Wrestling Memory (0:00-3:00)
EC3 & AEW Twitter Questions(3:01-7:15)
WWE WrestleMania 35 Predictions (7:16-38:31)

You can subscribe and listen to the 411 Foresight Wrestling Podcast via the above player on Transistor, or on the following platforms:

* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play

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